This is a repository copy of Strategic planning, ‘city deals’ and affordable housing. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/163437/ Version: Published Version Monograph: Pill, M. orcid.org/0000-0002-9434-1425, Gurran, N., Gilbert, C. et al. (1 more author) (2020) Strategic planning, ‘city deals’ and affordable housing. Report. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute , Melbourne, Australia. ISSN 1834-7223 10.18408/ahuri-7320301 Reuse This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) licence. This licence allows you to remix, tweak, and build upon this work non-commercially, and any new works must also acknowledge the authors and be non-commercial. You don’t have to license any derivative works on the same terms. 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[email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ PEER REVIEWED Strategic planning, ‘city deals’ and affordable housing From the AHURI Inquiry Urban productivity and affordable rental housing supply Authored by Madeleine Pill Catherine Gilbert The University of Sydney The University of Sydney Nicole Gurran Peter Phibbs The University of Sydney The University of Sydney Final Report No. 331 Publication Date July 2020 DOI 10.18408/ahuri-7320301 Title Strategic planning, ‘city deals’ and affordable housing Authors Madeleine Pill The University of Sydney Nicole Gurran The University of Sydney Catherine Gilbert The University of Sydney Peter Phibbs The University of Sydney ISBN 978-1-925334-94-4 City deals; affordable housing; regional Australia; affordable rental housing; housing Key words strategies; strategic planning. Series AHURI Final Report Number 331 ISSN 1834-7223 Publisher Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited Melbourne, Australia DOI 10.18408/ahuri-7320301 Format PDF, online only URL http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/331 Recommended citation Pill, M., Gurran, N., Gilbert, C. and Phibbs, P. (2020) Strategic planning, ‘city deals’ and affordable housing, AHURI Final Report 331, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited, Melbourne, http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/331, doi: 10.18408/ahuri-7320301. Related reports and documents Urban productivity and affordable rental housing supply https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/research-in-progress/ahuri-inquiries/urban- productivity-and-affordable-rental-housing-supply AHURI Final Report No. 331 i AHURI AHURI is a national independent research network with an expert not-for-profit research management company, AHURI Limited, at its centre. AHURI’s mission is to deliver high quality research that influences policy development and practice change to improve the housing and urban environments of all Australians. Using high quality, independent evidence and through active, managed engagement, AHURI works to inform the policies and practices of governments and the housing and urban development industries, and stimulate debate in the broader Australian community. AHURI undertakes evidence-based policy development on a range of priority policy topics that are of interest to our audience groups, including housing and labour markets, urban growth and renewal, planning and infrastructure development, housing supply and affordability, homelessness, economic productivity, and social cohesion and wellbeing. Acknowledgements This material was produced with funding from the Australian Government and state and territory governments. AHURI Limited gratefully acknowledges the financial and other support it has received from these governments, without which this work would not have been possible. AHURI Limited also gratefully acknowledges the contributions, both financial and in-kind, of its university research partners who have helped make the completion of this material possible. Disclaimer The opinions in this report reflect the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of AHURI Limited, its Board, its funding organisations or Inquiry Panel members. No responsibility is accepted by AHURI Limited, its Board or funders for the accuracy or omission of any statement, opinion, advice or information in this publication. AHURI journal AHURI Final Report journal series is a refereed series presenting the results of original research to a diverse readership of policy-makers, researchers and practitioners. Peer review statement An objective assessment of reports published in the AHURI journal series by carefully selected experts in the field ensures that material published is of the highest quality. The AHURI journal series employs a double-blind peer review of the full report, where anonymity is strictly observed between authors and referees. Copyright © Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited 2020 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. AHURI Final Report No. 331 ii Contents List of tables v List of figures vi Acronyms and abbreviations used in this report vii Glossary vii Executive summary 1 Key points 1 Key findings 2 Policy development options 4 The study 5 Introduction 6 1.1 Why this research was conducted 6 1.2 Policy context 7 1.3 Existing research 8 1.4 Research methods 9 International evidence: place-based deals as strategic funding interventions 12 2.1 The framework for place-based metropolitan economic strategies 12 2.2 International evidence 13 2.3 France: Contrats de Développement Territorial 15 2.4 Canada: Urban Development Agreements 15 2.5 US: Community Development Block Grants and the Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program 16 2.6 Place-based deals 18 2.7 A typology of place-based funding deals, and implications for Australia 23 Australian strategic planning and policy frameworks, and funding interventions 25 3.1 National policy frameworks and funding interventions 25 AHURI Final Report No. 331 iii 3.2 Capital city strategic planning frameworks 27 3.3 Strategic planning frameworks and City Deals in Sydney, Melbourne, Wollongong and Geelong 30 3.4 Housing supply and job opportunity mismatches, and options to support balanced growth 37 Policy development options 43 References 45 Appendix 1: Australian informants 51 Appendix 2: International informants 52 Appendix 3: Manchester case study 53 AHURI Final Report No. 331 iv List of tables Table 1: Summary of research questions and methods 9 Table 2: Comparing international place-based deals 14 Table 3: Place-based deals and strategic funding mechanisms in the UK 19 Table 4: City Deals in the UK 20 Table 5: Characteristics of place-based deals in the UK 22 Table 6: Typology of place-based deals 23 Table 7: National policy frameworks for cities and regions 26 Table 8: Review of capital city strategic planning frameworks 28 Table 9: Western Sydney City Deal commitments and performance indicators 33 AHURI Final Report No. 331 v List of figures Figure 1: Geography of affordable and unaffordable rental housing supply 38 Figure 2: Employment density, Greater Sydney (2016) 39 Figure 3: Geography of affordable and unaffordable rental housing supply (two- bedroom dwellings), Greater Melbourne (2016) 40 Figure 4: Employment density, Greater Melbourne (2016) 41 AHURI Final Report No. 331 vi Acronyms and abbreviations used in this report AHURI Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited CBD Central business district CDBG Community Development Block Grant (United States) CDT Contrats de Développement Territorial (France) HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development (US) LGA Local Government Area NSW New South Wales SCRPGP Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program UDA Urban Development Agreement (Canada) UK United Kingdom US United States Glossary A list of definitions for terms commonly used by AHURI is available on the AHURI website www.ahuri.edu.au/research/glossary. AHURI Final Report No. 331 vii Executive summary Key points This project examined how strategic spatial planning and funding interventions such as ‘city deals’ can leverage affordable rental housing choices near employment centres, enhancing urban productivity. • Place-based deals, such as Australia’s emerging City Deal model, offer unique opportunities for enhancing urban and regional productivity by reconfiguring spatial relationships between employment, affordable rental housing and transportation. • ‘Satellite cities’ such as Wollongong and Geelong, near capital city employment centres like Sydney and Melbourne, can play an important role in providing affordable rental housing for Q2 workers (i.e. in the second-lowest income quintile). • Strategies for connectivity should support new and skilled employment opportunities within satellite cities, to ensure that Q2 renter households are not forced to commute long distances. • Overall, the study finds that specific mechanisms are needed to create or preserve affordable rental housing in areas benefiting from new investment and improved connectivity to employment opportunities. Such mechanisms are largely absent in capital city strategic plans and regional planning frameworks. Internationally, and increasingly in Australia, strategic funding interventions such as city deals have